How to diagnose you with dissociative personality disorder

Video: Dissociative disorders - causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, pathology

Content

Steps
Part 1 of 5: Identifying Symptoms
Part 2 of 5: Making a diagnosis
Part 3 of 5: Recognizing Warning Signs
Part 4 of 5: Basic information about the disease
Part 5 of 5: Common Myths
Tips
Additional articles

Dissociative Personality Disorder (DID), or multiple personality disorder, manifests itself in the splitting of a person's personality into several personalities who live in one body. DRL often develops as a result of emotional trauma during childhood. This disorder causes discomfort and confusion both for the patient himself and for those around him. If you suspect you may have DRL, look for symptoms and warning signs, learn more about DRL, dismiss common misconceptions about the disorder, and see a specialist who can make an accurate diagnosis.

Steps

Part 1 of 5: Identifying Symptoms

1 Analyze your self-awareness. DLC sufferers have several distinct personality conditions. These conditions exist in one person and appear alternately, and the patient may not remember certain periods of time. The existence of multiple personalities can create confusion and confusion in the patient's identity.
- Take a closer look at the "switching" of personalities. The term "switching" is used to denote a change in personality states. In patients with PDD, these switchings occur on a regular basis. Switching between personality states can occur in a few seconds or within a few hours, and the time spent in a separate state can also be different for different people. Sometimes, people around you may notice switching on the following grounds:
  - Change the tone / timbre of the voice.
  - Frequent blinking, as if the person is getting used to the light.
  - A general change in behavior or physical condition.
  - Change in facial features or expressions.
  - Changing the train of thought or conversation without any prerequisites or external reasons.
- In children, having imaginary friends and other fantasies and reincarnations are not evidence of multiple personality states and DRL.
2 Notice the dramatic changes in emotional state and behavior. DSD sufferers often experience dramatic changes in emotional state (displayed emotions), behavior, self-awareness, memory, perception, thinking, and sensorimotor skills.
- People with PDD can sometimes drastically change the topic of conversation or the way they think. They also find it difficult to concentrate attention for an extended period of time, they often join in the conversation, then "drop out" of it.
3 Look for memory impairments. DRL is associated with significant memory problems: it can be difficult for patients to remember everyday events, important personal data, or traumatic events.
- DRL memory problems differ in type from normal forgetfulness. If you have lost your keys or forgot where you parked your car, this alone cannot be a sign of DRL. People with PDD have severe memory lapses - for example, they are often unable to remember very recent events.
4 Pay attention to the degree of the disorder. DRL is diagnosed only when symptoms lead to significant disruptions in social, professional, and other areas of daily activity.
- Are the symptoms you are experiencing (personality conditions, memory problems) causing severe difficulty and distress?
- Are you experiencing serious problems because of your symptoms at school, work, or at home?
- Do the symptoms make it difficult to communicate and make friends with others normally?

Part 2 of 5: Making a diagnosis

1 Consult a psychologist. The only reliable way to determine if you have PDD is to get a psychological evaluation. People with dissociative personality disorder may not always remember the specific personality conditions they experienced. In view of this, patients with DRL may not be aware of the presence of several personalities, which greatly complicates self-diagnosis.
- Don't try to diagnose yourself. In order to determine if you have DRL, you need to see a specialist. Only a professional psychologist or psychiatrist is able to diagnose this disease.
- Find a psychologist or psychotherapist who specializes in diagnosing and treating this type of disorder.
- If you are diagnosed with DRL, you can decide for yourself whether or not you should receive treatment. Ask your doctor to recommend a suitable psychiatrist.
2 Eliminate the likelihood of other diseases. Sometimes, PDD sufferers experience memory problems and anxiety, which can be caused by some other medical conditions. You need to be examined by a doctor (for example, a therapist) who can rule out the likelihood of such diseases.
- Also eliminate the possibility of a disorder due to the use of psychoactive substances. DRL is not associated with memory lapses due to alcohol abuse or intoxication with other substances.
- If you experience any seizures or seizures, see your doctor immediately. This indicates a serious illness that is not directly related to DRL.
3 Be patient. Remember that it takes some time to diagnose DRL. Patients with DRL are sometimes misdiagnosed. The main reason for this is that many people with PDD have other mental health problems, such as depression, PTSD, eating disorders, sleep disturbances, panic disorder, or substance abuse. The symptoms of these diseases are often superimposed on the symptoms of DRL. Therefore, the doctor needs some time to monitor the patient before making a final diagnosis.
- Do not expect an immediate diagnosis on your first visit to a specialist. It will most likely require several doctor visits to make a diagnosis.
- Be sure to inform the specialist about your suspicions that you have DRL. This will greatly facilitate the diagnosis, since the specialist (psychologist or psychiatrist) will be able to immediately ask you the right questions and follow your behavior accordingly.
- Hide nothing from your doctor. The more information he has, the more accurately he will diagnose.

Part 3 of 5: Recognizing Warning Signs

1 Look for other symptoms and signs of DRL. There are many symptoms associated with DRL. Although other symptoms may not be required to make a diagnosis, they may well be present with DRL.
- Make a list of all the symptoms you are experiencing. This list will help you learn more about your condition. When you visit a psychologist, show him the list you have drawn up.
2 Consider your traumatic past. DRL usually develops as a result of severe and prolonged emotional trauma and abuse. Unlike, for example, the thriller Hide and Seek, in which a sudden mental breakdown occurs as a result of a recent traumatic experience, DRL usually develops as a result of constant humiliation and mistreatment. Typically, DRL is formed as a mechanism that aims to overcome years of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse experienced by a person in childhood. This is usually a very difficult experience, such as being regularly raped by a parent, or being kidnapped and abused for a long time.
- A single (or several unrelated) act of violence does not cause DRL.
- Sometimes the symptoms of the disease appear already in childhood, but the disease itself is diagnosed in a person in adulthood.
3 Watch out for blackouts and amnesia. With "blackouts", a person suddenly finds himself in some place, but does not remember at all what happened for some time before that (for example, yesterday or in the morning of the same day). This condition is similar to amnesia, in which a person loses knowledge of himself and memories of his past. Both conditions cause serious suffering to the patient, since they complicate self-identification and control over their actions.
- Keep a journal and write down your memory problems. If you suddenly find that you do not remember what you were doing just a couple of minutes ago, record this incident in your diary. Write down the date, time, and the last thing you remember. This will help to identify patterns and possible triggers that lead to such episodes. If you don't mind, you can show these notes to a psychologist.
4 Pay attention to dissociation. Dissociation is the feeling of being detached from your body, environment, feelings and memories. Each of us from time to time experiences dissociation to one degree or another (for example, during a boring long lecture, when you are suddenly brought back to reality by a school bell). However, people with PDD experience dissociation more often, and after that they seem to "wake up from sleep." With such dissociation, it seems to a person that he is observing his body from the side.

Part 4 of 5: Basic information about the disease

1 Learn about the specific criteria for a diagnosis of DRL. Knowing the exact criteria for the disease will help determine if you need a psychological evaluation to confirm your concerns. According to the DSM-5 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which serves as one of the primary diagnostic tools for psychologists, five criteria must be met to make a diagnosis of DRL. All five of the following criteria should be checked before a diagnosis of DRL is made:
- One person must have two or more separate personality states that go beyond social and cultural norms.
- The patient should experience recurring memory problems: memory lapses and inability to remember everyday events, impaired memory of himself or traumatic events in the past.
- Symptoms make daily activities much more difficult (at school, at work, at home, in relationships with others).
- The disorder is not related to religious or cultural practices in the broadest sense.
- Symptoms are not due to substance abuse or other medical conditions.
2 Remember, DRL is not uncommon. DRL is usually considered a very rare mental illness that affects a few. However, recent studies have shown that in fact, this disorder occurs in 1-3 percent of people, that is, much more often than is commonly thought. It should be remembered, however, that the severity of the disorder can vary widely.
3 Note that DRL is diagnosed much more often in women than in men. Whether this is due to social conditions or to the fact that women are more likely to experience violence in childhood, but they are diagnosed with DPD 3-9 times more often than men. Moreover, women with DSD have, on average, 15 or more different personality conditions, while men only have about 8.

Part 5 of 5: Common Myths

1 Remember, DRL is a real mental illness. In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion about the validity of dissociative personality disorder. Nevertheless, psychologists and scientists seem to have come to a consensus that such a disease does exist, despite the differences in its interpretation.
- Popular films such as Me, Me, and Irene, Fight Club and Sybil have contributed even moreOMore confusion in the general public's views on DRL, as they show fictitious and extreme forms of the disease.
- Dissociative Identity Disorder does not appear as suddenly and dramatically as is usually shown in films and TV shows, and does not lead to the manifestation of cruel and animal tendencies.
2 Note that false memories are not classified as DRL. Although it happens that people experience false memories when asked incorrectly by poorly trained psychologists or under hypnosis, it is very rare for people with PDD to completely forget their past abuse. As a rule, PDD sufferers have suffered such a difficult and prolonged traumatic experience that they are not able to completely suppress and force out memories of it from their consciousness; they may forget some things, but not all.
- A well-trained psychologist knows what questions to ask the patient so that he does not have false memories.
- DRL can be safely treated with psychotherapy, and many patients have improved significantly after psychotherapy sessions.
3 DRL is different from having an alter ego. Many claim to have multiple personalities when in reality they mean their alter ego. An alter ego is a fictional second person that is used by a person to act and behave differently than usual. Many PDD sufferers are not fully aware of their various personality states due to partial amnesia, while people with alter ego not only become aware of their second personality, but also deliberately create it.
- Celebrities such as Eminem (Slim Shady) and Beyoncé (Sasha Firs) have an alter ego.

Tips

If you find yourself with some of the above symptoms, this does not mean at all that you have a split personality.
The mechanism of dissociative personality disorder protects a child from recurrent childhood trauma, but it stops working over time. That is why a person turns to doctors in adulthood, when he realizes that he cannot cope with the disease on his own.